COCO

What it does

COCO is a service that provides concert guests with features such as LED effects, changes, friends and more! All attendees are given one, allowing everyone to be part of the experience. At the end, COCO is returned to be serviced, before being used again

Your inspiration

1 in 7 people in the UK are neurodiverse, which causes them to be more suceptible to sensory overload. Music is a common coping mechanism when entering otherwise challenging environments, however concerts/festivals are innaccessible due to unpredictable changes and large crowds. Current venue solutions are minimal e.g. offering some earbuds, leaving users discouraged and excluded. COCO can empower users to feel safer at these events that may have otherwise stressed them out, allowing them to enjoy the experience with everyone else, without the stigma that some accessibility solutions can cause. COCO allows users to better engage with the arts

How it works

From a physical stand point, the colour changing effects would be achieved with an LED frame on the interior of the product. The earbuds and lanyard would be produced regularly and handed out with the main device. The digital aspects of the COCO would be done on a screen, and controlled using the two dials either side of the product (this allows users to comfrotable control the menu regardless if they're left handed or right handed). The dials also act as a fidget. The reason this is a physical product as opposed to a mobile app is due to users often experiencing singal issues in venues, but also to avoid users disconnecting from the concert experience by constantly being on their phone.

Design process

Over 30 prototypes have been made, ranging from basic foam models to look at the grip, to 3D printed models to look at certain grip styles, fidget mechanisms and shape. Throughout the design process, key users were contacted and spoken to throughout the process to gain insight and feedback to determine areas of improvement. Examples of this include streamlining the shape to improve the grip aswell as aesthetics, removing certain fidget elements due to easily being broken, and changing the UI from a lighter colour palette to a darker one. This allowed for the users to be at the centre of COCO.

How it is different

Although some concerts feature LED products that can be remotely controlled, none double act as an accessibility aid. By having COCO be a product all attendees have, it reduces the stigma that some accessibility aids can cause. Common aids that help with sensory overload focus on the auditory aspect (e.g. earbuds), however COCO has features that help with other aspects, such as prewarning the user if sudden visual changes will occur (e.g. strobe lighting), audio (a loud bang) or other special effects (e.g. pyrotechnics, smoke). Also features such as 'crowd view' which allows users to see where the busiest parts of the crowd are compared to quieter areas, so users can choose where to stand based on their preference on crowds. Other features make this a desirable product too, such as adding friends and seeing their location, bathroom queue times etc. This helps removes stigma as COCO becomes desirable for everyone.

Future plans

After recieving feedback from academic supervisers, I plan to develop COCO further. Once gaining some industry experience and learning from other professionals, I would like to eventually push COCO out into the market

Awards

Shortlisted for the 'Innovation Award' and the 'Regenerative Design Award' at Loughborough University School of Design and Creative Arts Degree Show 2025